


Home is Where the Heart is

by TheSilverField



Series: Ereri-Writing-Prompts (tumblr) [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M, Tumblr Prompt, ereri-writing-prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 10:52:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13269927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSilverField/pseuds/TheSilverField





	Home is Where the Heart is

Home is where the heart is.

What a crock of shit.

That's what they all say. People with a heart. Full people. Happy people. People who have someone to go home to at the end of the day. They say that to remind themselves of their own fullness. To remind themselves that they're more fortunate than this lonely, thirty-six year old man sitting in his too-small-but-too-spacious living room. His incomplete life was just waiting to be shared.

But Levi didn't want--or  _need--_ companionship.

That's what he told himself, at least.

But, as much as he denied his loneliness, that didn't stop the ache. Or the nightmares consoled by boiling black tea, and the flickering glow coming from the TV in the wee morning hours. Or the silence that accompanied every meal, and any spare time he might have in between his run-of-the-mill, underpaying, prosaic office job, and the ever-eluding peacefulness of sleep. It didn't fill the space between his fingers walking down the street to his favorite cafe. Or help him reach the itch on his back when he was lounging on the couch trying to read a book. Or cuddle against his chest and talk him through the sleepless nights of blistering insomnia.

It didn't stop the craving to find the meaning of  _home_.

It was an odd feeling to Levi. Something he couldn't quite explain. He longed for a home he felt he once knew, but couldn't get back. And in some moments, he felt as if he hadn't known home at all. Home was just a lie. A fairy tale. And Levi wasn't some foolish child who believed in such things anymore. 

He was losing hope. Rapidly. Which is why he found himself at a local bar one night, sipping a pint and making small talk with the young, cute bartender by the name of Eren. He barely looked old enough to be drinking, let alone working at the establishment, his starry blue-- _green?_ Levi wasn't sure.  _Somewhere in between._ \--eyes too bright and carefree to have any problems of his own just yet.

_Right?_

Eren's life wasn't the most interesting, but that didn't stop Levi from wanting to know more. He was an art student at the local university, working the bar temporarily to save up for his own apartment once he graduated. This wasn't his only job. He was also a waiter at a restaurant Levi had never even heard of just one block away. He left straight from his classes to his first job, then from his first job to his second every day except Sundays, which he used to catch up on sleep.

He had just turned twenty-two. His favorite color is purple. He has an adoptive sister named Mikasa. His best friend Armin is in med school, but it's been ages since they've spoken because they're both so busy. He has a cat named Titan, who he almost feels bad for having because he's afraid the damn thing's lonely. But what about Eren?

Is Eren lonely?

When asked that, both Levi's and his cheeks were dusted in pink. Levi quickly apologized for asking something so personal, but Eren shook his head with a nervous chuckle.

"Maybe I am. I'm not really sure." he shrugged, and cut Levi off when he opened his mouth to speak again. "It's alright. I only ever feel it on Sundays, or late at night, because I guess those are the only times I'm by myself. The rest of the time, I'm either here, or at school, or at the restaurant. It's weird..." the younger shrugs again, and pushes a long strand of chestnut brown hair behind his ear. For a moment, the older man thinks he's dreaming, because in the dim light of the bar room he swears Eren's tan skin is glowing.

"I feel it all the time." Levi mumbles candidly, without thinking, and curses himself for sounding so damn desperate.

Eren blinks at him for a moment before the softest, most beautiful smile Levi has ever seen slowly spreads his lips. The brunette's hand wraps around the raven's beer mug, their fingers brushing before Eren goes to refill and set it back between the two of them. "Then it's settled." he states matter-of-factly, grinning with a twinkle in his eye of something unknown to the other. "We'll just have to fix that by meeting here every night. Except Sunday. You can take me on a date then."

And in that moment, Levi felt the hair on the back of his neck raise up, his palms turned clammy, and his heart pick up its pace. He knew. This boy would be the end of life as he knew it. This boy would change everything he ever knew, or  _thought_ he knew. For the rest of his life, he would remember this moment. He would remember this feeling. He would remember this boy.  _Eren_.

Levi grabbed for the stein, which Eren still had his hand on, letting their fingers brush again before he took it back for a long swig to hide his own smile. "It's a date."

From that moment on, Levi's thoughts were consumed by Eren. He became restless for a while, so nervous that he almost cancelled their date on Sunday. But when they met later that night, and he saw the younger's smile beckoning him over as soon as he walked through the door, he knew he couldn't. Levi was stuck with him, and he didn't mind not one fucking bit.

The next few months were anything but lonely. It was a strange learning process for Levi, but Eren was so patient and caring with him. Eren was so  _perfect_ and  _precious_ to him, filling the void that had so long lingered in Levi's chest. Curing a sickness he didn't know how to explain, or heal on his own. Home was no longer a lie.

Home was no longer a lie because Eren was here, and he was an irrevocable truth. He wasn't sure when the change took place, but the two now seemed synonymous to Levi. Eren and heart. Heart and home. _Eren_ and home.

Home was no longer a lie.

Home is where Eren is.


End file.
